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Turns out Microsoft had a surprise in store for students around the globe this February, and not just for those based in New York. The company's finally bringing free Office 365 subscriptions to students outside the US, so long as they live in one of the countries (it's quite a lengthy list) where the product's available. Schools will have to buy subscriptions for staff and faculty, but once they do, students (and even teachers) can self-install for no charge by using a school-issued email address at the Office in education website. After signing up, they'll get access to the newest Office, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and Publisher, and be able to install them on up to five computers and five phones or tablets. An account also comes with Office Online and, even better, 1TB of OneDrive storage, so users can go wild uploading anything without quickly running out of space.

Now's a pretty good time to be a New York City schoolkid. Microsoft has announced that all of the city's public school students (and their teachers) are getting free Office 365 ProPlus subscriptions -- if you qualify, you'll have five desktop and five mobile licenses as long as you're part of the local educational system. Ostensibly, the goal is to make sure that kids won't be "confined to the classroom" and can finish that big book report on any computer.

Google employed a tabbed inbox to help organize the chaos of daily email a while back, and now Microsoft has a new option for Office 365 users to get things sorted. Using its Office Graph, a feature called Clutter learns from your behavior, relationships and preferences to show only what's important in that main repository. It sends low-priority items to another spot, keeping would-be distraction at bay. The rest? It gets stashed in a dedicated folder in the left-hand menu for easy access when you're ready. And as you might expect, Clutter's know-how syncs across the web, Outlook and mobile devices to keep thing arranged just so on all of your gadgets. The tool is turned off by default, so you'll need to toggle it on in order to take advantage. While it may not appear to be working, Microsoft says its learning your workflow, and manually stashing less important emails will help it pick get a handle on your inbox a little quicker.

You may want to write this down so you can remember it later on, in case you really can't think of a better gift for someone in your life who depends on several Microsoft services. The company has just released a limited edition Work & Play bundle, which contains one-year subscriptions each to Office 365 Home (comes with unlimited OneDrive storage), Xbox Live, Xbox Music Pass and Skype Unlimited World and WiFi for a total of $199.

We've listed down the price of each service for you, so you can figure out if the bundle's worth buying:

Office 365 Home: $9.99/month or $99.99/year

Xbox Live 12-month Gold Membership: $59.99/year

12-Month Xbox Music Pass: $99.90/year

Skype Unlimited World: €10.49 ($13.05)/month or $156.60/year if the numbers you're calling are mostly located in the US

Already using Office 365 on your Mac? Well, if you fancy Microsoft's email software too, you're in luck. The new version of Outlook for Mac is now available to the aforementioned subscribers, and it carries a smattering of new features. Aside from the usual performance boosts, there's a tweaked UI to bolster productivity, online archive support for Exchange searches, Master Category List syncing across platforms and more. In addition to that app, the company also mentioned that it plans to release a public beta for the next version of Office for Mac in early 2015, with the official arrival planned for the second half of the year. And as you might expect, Office 365 customers will get the new goods as part of the paid plan.

Last week's earnings report highlighted how Microsoft is doing quite well, and it has Office 365 to thank for some of its success during the last financial quarter. And now the company is about to make things better for people who subscribe to the productivity suite. Microsoft's going to start giving Office 365 Home, Personal and University customers free unlimited storage with OneDrive, its cloud-based digital locker service -- a very kind gesture, to say the least. First, the company says this will roll out to subscribers of the aforementioned plans starting today, but the plan is to bring it to all Office 365 customers over the coming months. If you're using Home, Personal or University now, however, there's now a site that can help you flip the switch on your new all-you-can-have OneDrive goodness.

The cloud has been a solid source of income for Microsoft in recent times, and while the company is still in the middle of a huge transition, the future is looking bright under recently appointed CEO Satya Nadella. Today, Microsoft released its earnings report for the first fiscal 2015 quarter, with the main takeaway being the growth of its Devices and Consumer revenue by 47 percent, to $10.96 billion, bringing the total to $23.20 billion in overall revenue, a 25 percent increase compared to the same period last year. In other words, business is superb over in Redmond.

Back when it launched the Student Advantage program, Microsoft made it possible for 35,000 educational institutions across the globe to receive free access to Office 365. As part of that, students and teachers alike could get a subscription to the productivity software at no cost to them, so long as their school had enrolled in the initiative. Problem is, since then, each student depended on the school to be the one to create an Office 365 account they could use -- until today. Microsoft's now simplified the process, opening up a self-serve service for students to get the license without the need to check with the school's IT department first. Those who qualify will need a valid .edu email address to receive the free subscription, from a school that's currently participating in the Student Advantage program, and that's about it. The only caveat is that this is limited to US students at the moment, but Microsoft says it plans to bring the sign-up feature worldwide later this year.

More free storage? Lower prices? It's all good news from Microsoft today: The company just announced that it will begin offering 15GB of free storage to OneDrive users, up from 7GB. For those of you keeping track, this latest move brings OneDrive in line with its biggest rival, Google Drive, which also also offers 15GB of free space (other competitors such as iCloud and Dropbox don't offer nearly as much complimentary storage). Meanwhile, Microsoft said that within the next month, Office 365 users will get 1TB of free space, up from 20GB. This, too, is a welcome change: That generous 1TB cap was previously reserved for Office 365's business users only.

Been looking forward to a native Outlook Web App for your Android device? You just might have to wait a little longer: the freshly launched OWA Android app is only available on 'select devices.' Microsoft says this pre-release version can do everything its iOS counterpart can and automatically update its address book whenever the user makes a chance to their device contacts, but it's not ready for a full roll-out. Still, if you're sporting a device with Android 4.4 KitKat and Google's OS standards categorize your phone as "small" or "normal," the app's inaugural releases is yours for the taking. Have something else? Check out OWA's support page: Microsoft is taking suggestions on what devices to support next.

Office 365 Personal, a leaner version of Microsoft's subscription-based productivity suite, is now available for $70 per year or $7 per month. The new package lets you use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Access on one Mac or Windows computer and one tablet. You also get smartphone access with Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices, online versions of Office, 27GB of online storage and 60 Skype minutes each month. Power users can access Office from up to five computers by opting for Office 365 Home instead, which will run you $100 per year or $10 per month.

Microsoft isn't done with Office updates just because it released Office for iPad and made Office Mobile completely free -- it has a bunch of improvements in store for Office Online, too. To start with, Office has reached the Chrome Web Store. You can now launch most of the productivity suite's web apps (Excel is due soon) in the Chrome browser or Chrome OS just by clicking a shortcut. Clearly, the crew from Redmond is no longer averse to supporting your Chromebook.

It's easy to find Android phones that can handle the Exchange-based email you often find in the workplace, but they don't always support all the latest features. That won't be a problem for much longer, though, as Microsoft has just revealed plans to bring Outlook Web App to Google's platform later this year. Much like its iOS counterpart from 2013, the Android release should let you take advantage of Office 365 technology that might not make it into third-party email software. The app may not be all that exciting by itself, but it could be the key to using your preferred phone for work instead of having to switch to company-approved hardware.

If you're enamored with Office for iPad but don't want to fork over $70-plus per year for the necessary Office 365 subscription, you'll want to make a beeline to your local Microsoft Store this weekend. Microsoft has launched a promo that will offer a free year of Office 365 to the first 50 people who bring an iPad to a given retail location from March 28th through March 30th. You'll undoubtedly have to hustle if you want to take advantage of the deal, but the trek could be worthwhile if you like the idea of giving Office an extra-long trial run.

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How does Satya Nadella run a Microsoft press event? We're about to find out: the company's new CEO will is coming to San Francisco later this month to talk about "news focused on the intersection of cloud and mobile computing." The topic certainly plays to his strengths. Before taking the helm as the company's new chief executive, Nadella played a major role in launching Office 365, Microsoft's subscription and cloud-based Office platform. While that application is already accessible from mobile devices, native Android and iOS Office apps have reportedly been on Microsoft's roadmap for some time too, and we wouldn't be surprised if they surfaced at this event. Microsoft won't speak further on the specifics of the event, but we won't have to wait long -- Nadella takes the stage on March 27th.

It should now be much easier to sign your Office 365 documents without taking them offline or printing them out. Microsoft has reached a deal to offer DocuSign's digital signature apps through both the Office Store and corporate deployments, letting you affix your virtual handwriting while staying in Office 365's cloud. The two companies also promise to team up on future projects. The improved signature support isn't likely to fulfill those dreams of a paperless workplace, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

There are only so many ways one can juice up boring Excel data, but Microsoft's new Power Map Preview for Office 365 looks like it's up to the challenge. The 3D map visualizer has just graduated from "project" status with a handful of features sure to please number crunchers and map lovers alike. Power Map can automatically recognize geographical data in your spreadsheets -- from latitude and longitude coordinates to city or country names -- and plot associated values to points on a Bing map. You can also color code locales to see regional trends, switch between globe and flat map views and create "interactive" video tours for traversing your 3D spreadsheets. Those determined to turn raw numbers into eye candy will find the add-in on Microsoft's Download Center, and for an idea of what it can do, a sample video tour Redmond made earlier is located after the jump.

The once-mythical Office Mobile for iPhone has been available for a while, but what about that rumored Android version? As of today, it's equally real: Microsoft has launched Office Mobile for Android. Its cloud-focused approach to editing Excel, PowerPoint and Word documents will be familiar to those who've tried the iOS release, including SkyDrive storage support. What differences exist are there primarily to accommodate Google's Holo interface guidelines -- as on iOS, there's no tablet-native interface. The pricing certainly hasn't changed. While the core app is free, you'll need an Office 365 subscription to start working.

Sweetening the deal on its cloud-based Office 365 suite, Microsoft will start bundling a year of Xbox Live Gold with any purchases of Office 365 Home Premium or Office 365 University made before September 28th. You'll then pick up an Xbox Live code as you sign in during the initial Office setup. Unfortunately, US customers aren't eligible for this promotion, but the majority of Europe, plus Australia, Canada and parts of Asia are all included. Alongside the recent promise of two free games a month, Microsoft's made this bundled subscription a pretty tempting proposition.

Update: Turns out that this offer is available in the US after all. Thanks to tipster David for spotting, and sending that in. Details can be found at the More Coverage link.

It hasn't been hard to get Exchange support on iOS devices, but there's some for whom third-party apps and web clients just won't do. Microsoft has them covered today -- it just repackaged the Outlook Web App as a pair of native iOS releases. Both OWA for iPad and OWA for iPhone deliver email, calendar and contacts to Office 365 subscribers with access to Exchange Online. The developer is quick to note that this isn't a recreation of the Windows Phone environment, and there are a few elements borrowed from Outlook's web version. Still, we see a few reasons to give OWA a try: the native iOS software sends push notifications, takes voice commands, and supports both passcodes as well as remote wipes. Between the new apps and Office for iPhone, it's clear that iOS users are now welcome in Microsoft's world.

Hot on the heels of the recent iOS and Android overhaul of OneNote comes an update for the Windows 8 and Windows RT versions which adds Office 365 integration and touch keyboard improvements. The app is available in the Windows Store right now and lets you sign into your Office 365 school or work account and sync notebooks right from within the OneNote app. As for the touch keyboard, it's both invoked and dismissed by simply tapping into any empty space, which makes it easier to use. This allows you to switch seamlessly between inputting text and finger painting -- or basically, just focus on your notes. Hit the source link below for the update.

Almost five months after its debut, Office 365 is getting 38 new passport stamps. Clippy's hitting such exotic locales as Fiji, the Bahamas and Barbados, and it's even picking up new languages along the way. The subscription-based productivity suite now includes support for Vietnamese, Arabic and Malay. What's more, Redmond is happily accepting five new currencies for payment, too. Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, Malaysia and India can all use their native money to pay for the software as a service. Sadly, there's still no word from Microsoft about accepting Bitcoins.

It's only been a few days since Build, and the Redmond giant already has some extra news to announce. Previously only available in the US, Microsoft's Office and SharePoint Store is now open in 22 new markets with added language support for French, German, Spanish and Japanese. Countries with new storefronts include Australia, Canada, the UK, Japan, India, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, Belgium and Switzerland (there are sometimes several language markets per country).

Next on Microsoft's announcement list is the introduction of Power BI for Office 365, a cloud-based business intelligence suite that uses Excel to analyze and visualize data with a variety of enterprise-centric tools. Data-minded professionals will be able to snag Power BI as an add-on for their current Office 365 package, or get it as a stand-alone product. While Power BI won't be available until later this year, international Office users can browse that brand-spanking new storefront ahora mismo at the source link below.

Microsoft really, really doesn't want your Xbox One's online services going offline. In a near $700 million investment ($677.6 million), the company's opening a new data center in Iowa specifically aimed at powering Xbox Live and Office 365. Microsoft's Christian Belady told Iowa's Des Moines Register that the data center "supports the growing demand for Microsoft's cloud services" -- a much lauded function of both the Xbox One and Office 365. Alongside the $700 million investment, the company's getting a $6 million tax rebate from the state to move in, effective for five years. As for Microsoft's cloud, we'll assuredly hear more about it -- for both Xbox One and Office 365 -- this week at Build.

It wasn't a question of whether Microsoft would release Office for iOS, but when. The company just released a free Office Mobile app for the iPhone, and it's available today in the US, with other regions to follow over the coming days. Before you all go rushing off to the download link, though, there's something you need to know: an Office 365 subscription is required in order to use the app. That's a bummer for people who bought a traditional copy of the suite, or who normally use other word processors, but it makes perfect business sense for Microsoft. After all, the company doesn't want to give folks too many reasons to use iOS, and it also needs to protect the precious revenue stream that is Office sales.

In any event, if you do have a 365 subscription, you'll be delighted to know that the iOS app does not count toward your limit of five PC / Mac installations. Rather, you get to install the application on up to five iPhones, the same way you can put the full suite on up to five computers. Also, in addition to merely viewing whatever Word, PowerPoint and Excel files you already had stored in SkyDrive, you can also make light edits. Additionally, you can create new documents from your phone, though this only applies to Word and Excel, not PowerPoint (understandably so, we think). Again, the app is available today in the US, and for the iPhone, specifically; for the iPad, Microsoft is steering people toward its Office web apps. As for other platforms, the company won't comment on whether an Android version is in the works. At any rate, all you iPhone owners with 365 subscriptions can get your download on now. And then you can read on past the break, where we've got some screenshots and hands-on impressions at the ready.